Mobile & The Future Of Location-based Games

“Pokemon GO gave us a glimpse of the future.” That’s according to the GM for Innovation at leading US mobile firm, Verve. For mobile marketers, the message is that the way Pokemon GO exploded onto the global stage, literally overnight, taught us about mobile users’ willingness to try transacting in the real world based on events in the gaming world.

Last year was about coming to grips with the early learnings for marketers inherent in augmented-reality experiences. More knowledge will continue to emerge following the Pokemon GO ‘case study’ of 2016. There is clear consumer interest here and the focus must now be on inventing ways where the industry can leverage what Verve calls “game ad-units”.

We need to figure out how virtual gaming experiences that matter to consumers who encounter them in stores and on their screens, can be monetised to the advantage of brands and their agencies. Mobile marketing is ideally-positioned to take advantage of this new phenomenon of the merging of virtual experiences with real-world transactions. This is because we’ve already spent the last few years getting to grips with enabling technologies such as geofencing and the rise of beacons.

If we’re talking about the real world, let’s look at a real-world gaming / mobile marketing example. Imagine buying a soft drink when in proximity to a display and a drink brand could prompt the purchasing consumer’s device by rewarding them with a power-up in a game they already play. That’s a tiny taste, or sip, of the potential highly-effective marriage of mobile marketing and gaming. Let’s see how it all unfolds during 2017!

Inspirational Innovative Entrepreneurial, World-wide High Net-worthy Networks and Relationship, Corporate Positioning, Strategic Planning, Large and Wide Scale Change Management, Organisational Change, Corporate Facilitation, Strategic Corporate Partnerships, Self Starter and Highly Creative and Determined.
Studied accounting and finance and spent over twenty years of his career as a Financial Manager. An MBA Graduate from the West London University, United Kingdom and MBL Graduate from the UNISA

As the Deputy Chief Secretary or Chief of Staff to the Zimbabwean Prime Minister I advised and travelled together on engagements with the United States White House and US Capitol for meetings with President Barack Obama and various senior members of his cabinet, Senators and Congressmen.
Sat and advised in meetings with Prime Ministers of Great Britain, Germany and Spain, Presidents of China, South Korea, South Africa, Nigeria and the rest of Africa.